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Ruling out transfer of the probe into sexual abuse charges against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he reposed faith in the Special Investigation Team of the state police, which is investigating the case.

Questioning Bharatiya Janata Party’s locus standi to make such a demand, he asked the opposition party as to why it doesn’t trust the police. He also hit out at the saffron party for making misleading statements aimed at causing confusion in the minds of the people about SIT, which is conducting a “fair probe”.

“We are getting the probe done by our police (SIT), we have belief and faith in our police. They are efficient,” Siddaramaiah said in response to a question on BJP demanding a CBI probe.

Speaking to Reporters, he pointed out that the BJP had once called CBI “Corruption Bureau of Investigation”, and the party never handed over a single case to the central agency while in power, despite Congress’s repeated demands.

He further said, “It’s not that I don't have faith in CBI, the cases that need be handed over to CBI will be given. When I was the Chief Minister earlier, I had given seven cases to CBI, but there was no conviction even in a single case... that doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in CBI... SIT is also an investigating agency like CBI, we will get the probe done by our police.”

The 33-year-old JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is grandson of Janata Dal(Secular) patriarch and former PM HD Deve Gowda, is facing charges of sexually abusing women. The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.

While the Congress government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cases, the BJP and JD(S) — NDA partners — have demanded that it be handed over to the CBI, and action against those behind the circulation of explicit videos.